Does your work calendar control you?
Almost everyone I speak to or work with is overbooked with meetings. Being overbooked increases stress, reduces your effectiveness and your ability to meet the needs of your coworkers, your family and yourself. I’ve observed some great strategies for conquering the crisis of the modern calendar:
1. Block time for yourself before others can. I’ve seen people block “do email”, “focus time”, “work on X”, “check before scheduling meetings at this time”, as daily or regular events. It’s better to have people ask you to flex, than for you to have to try to rearrange a complex set of interrelated calendars.
2. Block “prep time” immediately before important meetings so you can be 100% ready. Don’t rush from meeting to meeting. It’s all about impact and influence, not presence.
3. Set reasonable expectations for your presence. If you get an invite with no description or agenda, message the person to understand the goals. Maybe the meeting can be better solved a different way, or without you. Equally, attending meetings where you won’t add value makes you look bad and wastes time.
4. Relentlessly remove recurring meetings. There should be a limited number of things important enough that need your recurring attention. Be clear what they are and prioritize them. For all the rest, kill recurring meetings and focus on quick connects in the moment to resolve specific questions or issues as they arise.
5. Give space to others. Think twice if you have representatives or reports that are already attending the meeting. Can they make the decision? Should they make the decision? Is your time better spent helping them prepare? Are you giving them space to develop and grow?
Protect your time and maximize your value and productivity by controlling your calendar. As someone said to me “the only people who will remember you working late will be your kids”.
Read our other blogs on business meeting success:
